Just as the superbly engineered Mazda3 hatch is an underdog in a world of bigger SUVs, so too is Australia’s smallest state taking on the world’s biggest whisky producers. And winning. We head to the Apple Isle’s annual ‘whisky week’ to unpack what makes Tassie whisky so special

He stands like a character in a film, his hands gnarled and calloused, his silhouette cast in a golden, early morning glow. He holds heavy, almost ancient-looking tools and in front of him, its heavyset form reaching almost to his chest, sits a slightly broken whisky barrel, its cracked and bowed sides waiting for repair. Suddenly they both move, not with the lumbering slowness you expect, but with a surprising lightness. Our man, known simply as a ‘cooper’, leads the big barrel as though it’s a dancing partner, his huge hammer making a form of music as he pelts the side with rhythmic blows, each one creating plumes of dust that billow and hang in the golden-hued air.

It’s almost hypnotic, this dance of man and whisky barrel, a ritual that feels ancient, artisanal and somehow ethereal, which given whisky is romantically referred to as the ‘water of life’, feels appropriate.

 

 

Geographically speaking, you might expect this scene is playing out in Ireland or Scotland, given that’s where most of us assume the world’s best whisky comes from. Most of us, though, would be wrong, because while the Scots and Irish do make fantastic whisky (both claim to have invented the heart-warming, throat-burning amber liquid) some of the world’s best actually hails from our very own doorstep – the tiny, wild and wonderfully unspoiled island of Tasmania, where our Mazda3 hatch has taken us. That’s not an unfounded claim either; Tassie has the trophy to prove it. A decade ago, Tasmanian distillery Sullivans Cove turned the whisky world on its axis by winning the ‘best single malt’ at the World Whisky Awards.

That win kickstarted an entire industry and whisky is now so big in Tasmania that it has its own ‘whisky week’, which sees thousands of connoisseurs flock from all over to taste, purchase and indulge, all the while trying to understand what makes Tassie whisky so special.

 

 

Tapping into that uniqueness (whisky really is a meld of science and art), and having the chance to meet some of the mavericks, characters and artists behind Tassie’s best distilleries, is exactly why we’ve made the voyage over from the mainland on the Spirit of Tasmania. It’s also why we’ve chosen our trusty, machine grey Mazda3 Touring Vision for this journey. Just as Tassie is an underdog taking on the world’s best, so too is Mazda’s mighty hatchback waging a battle of its own in a world of larger SUVs. High seating positions and taller ride heights might be in higher demand, but we have a sneaking suspicion Tassie’s twisty, serpentine roads will underscore that,  sometimes, a well-engineered hatch is all you really need. 

If you have the time, and a designated driver, Tassie has a meandering ‘whisky trail’ that allows you to visit nearly all of the 80-odd whisky distilleries in the state.

“This is the eighth edition of Whisky Week,” says Almer Elzink, who helps organise the variety of dinners, presentations and lighthearted events, like whisky-themed golf games, that make up the week. “It’s been growing year on year and more than half of the people come from interstate. And half of those are from Queensland. Whisky isn’t just for old dudes; it’s for everyone!”

Our journey starts on a crisp winter’s morning when, after a short 30-minute drive out of Hobart, we nose onto the forecourt at Lark distillery in Pontville and park up in front of its grand sandstone building. Lark is one of the cornerstones of Tassie whisky and was founded by Bill Lark, a man known affectionately as ‘the godfather of Tasmanian whisky’ for his leading role in overturning the archaic legislation that made distilling on the Apple Isle illegal until 1992. Like most of Tasmania, it’s incredibly beautiful out here.

We’re ushered into the rustic shed that houses the fermentation tanks and the lovely looking copper stills, which we’re told are “essentially huge kettles”. Whisky is made of three things: malted barley, water and yeast, and Lark proudly sources all of its grain from Tasmanian farmers.

 

 

What makes our whisky unique is we do everything to squeeze in more flavour,” says our tour guide. “We actually leave the barley in the fermentation tank for four extra days. It doesn’t give you more alcohol but it’ll add flavour.”

Most of the flavour in whisky, however, comes from the barrels. The highly alcoholic clear liquid that pours out of the still is known as ‘new make’ and, unless you have the palate of a seasoned distiller, it tastes like moonshine. Or, as photographer Alastair Brook gasps after a mouthful, like “pure fire”. It’s time in the cask that gives whisky its amber colour and upwards of 70-80 percent of its flavour, which is why the barrels themselves are so old. And so valuable. Some distilleries even employ people, known as coopers, just to look after the barrels, and it’s here, in an even bigger shed laden with strips of French, German and Canadian oak, that we meet Michael Alden, the burly American cooper who can make whisky barrels dance.

 

 

Between giant swings of his hammer, Michael tells us how the whisky boom has brought the cooper trade back from the brink of extinction. His expertise doesn’t only involve repairing barrels but ‘toasting’ them, which is the art of setting a small fire inside to release flavours and caramels from the wood.

“Being a cooper is a four year apprenticeship now,” says Michael. “It’s a trade that has been revived, a bit like blacksmithing.”

 

 

We learn of another secret of Tassie whisky: temperature swings. While Tasmania’s climate certainly feels Scottish, that is to say cold and wet, the mercury still swings from hot to cold more wildly. “Aussie whiskies are generally younger and have more flavour because the temperature swings force the spirit to interact with the wood more,” he explains. “It’s a bit like putting a teabag in a cup and just letting it sit, versus jiggling it around.”

As a result most Australian whiskies are about seven years old when they’re released (the minimum ageing time allowed is two years) but one distillery that really values time in the barrel is Sullivans Cove. Just like the sharp lines of our Mazda3’s exterior, which have been honed and perfected by designers with decades of experience, sometimes it’s time itself that’s the core ingredient.

 

 

After the grand buildings of Lark, the nondescript, industrial setting of Sullivans Cove is a bit of a disappointment. But while it may look like a warehouse on the outside, stepping over the threshold is like being transported into a 50th floor cocktail bar in Hong Kong, so modern and luxurious is the interior fitout.

As one of Tassie’s oldest distilleries, Sullivans celebrated its 30th birthday this year and has a singular, almost laser-like focus for its whisky: quality. Despite the huge demand that followed its ‘best whisky in the world’ win, Sullivans has refused to release its batches early and instead leaves it in the barrel until it’s deemed worthy. The downside is the longer you leave whisky in the barrel, the more of it evaporates (distillers lovingly refer to this as the ‘angel’s share’), meaning you get less whisky to sell. “10 years in a barrel will get you about 200 bottles,” our guide at Sullivans tells us. “But 20 years in the same size cask may only give you 50.”

 

 

The result is a bottle of Sullivans Cove is harder to get your hands on than Taylor Swift tickets. “We have the demand but not the whisky,” says our guide. “We sell our whisky by a ballot now, which randomly chooses buyers from a long wait list.”

And as for the batch that won world’s best single malt? Sadly it’s all gone, bar for one bottle at the distillery. Others do exist in the wild, the last of which sold for upwards of $10,000, but most of them have been drunk. “We’ve learnt our lesson and now we keep six bottles of every batch,” says our guide ruefully.

But while Sullivan’s philosophy rests in quality and tradition, there are many other, younger distilleries taking a more left-field approach. Not everyone wants to wait upwards of 10 years for their product to mature, meaning experimental recipes and flavours are emerging. Other small distillers are investigating wine casks rather than traditional port or sherry barrels which are now in such high demand that they’re rare and exceptionally expensive. “A good sherry or port cask can be up to 4-5 times more expensive than a wine barrel,” says Rob, a former distiller at Lark who now runs his own brand, Overland, which makes rye whisky as well as beer and burgers. “The Tassie industry is evolving fast and it’s still finding its feet. I’d say it’s in the teenager phase. It’s still figuring itself out.”

The final stop on our whisky tour is Waubs, a jaw-droppingly beautiful seaside distillery that, thanks to its infusion of sea air, is said to produce some of Tasmania’s best-tasting spirits. Waubs is a 2.5 hour drive up the East coast from Hobart which gives us a chance to stretch the Mazda3’s legs and to revel in its driver-focused handling. Just as Tassie is a whisky lover’s mecca, so too is it a haven of brilliant driving roads, and while a sports car like a Mazda MX-5 would be brilliant here, the 3 proves you can still enjoy the sporty benefits of ‘zoom zoom’ while retaining the practicality of rear seats and a big boot – ample space for several casks of Tassie’s finest fire water. Even better is Mazda recently treated the 3 to a tech update that brought a bigger centre screen and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, which helps to make the journey seem even easier and shorter.

 

 

Like the Lark distillery, Waubs wears the beauty of its location proudly. Housed in a repurposed oyster hatchery right on the ocean’s edge, Waubs is run by two brothers, Tim and Rob, who purchased the derelict site in 2018. Initially the team tried to shelter their whisky barrels from the harsh sea air but now they’ve embraced their location with such conviction that the salt is their secret ingredient. “What we’re really trying to do is to marry our whisky with the maritime location,” says Tim as he shows us around. Waubs uses sea water to run its cooling system and is even developing its own strands of natural yeast taken from the rocks, salt bushes and nearby jetty.

“Everyone is starting a distillery so we thought ‘how can we do something unique’”, Tim tells us. “Because whisky barrels are living and breathing things, the salt air seasons the whisky, just like a roast potato. So it’ll turn a caramel flavour into a salted caramel.”

 

 

It’s a philosophy you really can taste in the finished product and as we start the long drive to Devonport to catch the Spirit of Tasmania back into Geelong, I find myself marvelling at the ingenuity on display in Tasmania. By the time I’m settled into my wonderfully appointed cabin onboard The Spirit, I’m convinced: we’ve only seen the beginning of what Tassie whisky has to offer. With so many distillers ‘waiting for whisky’ to mature, it’s almost a guarantee that Tassie’s unique mix of climate, ingredients and expertise will yield more awards. Aussies love an underdog story, especially one that involves beating the Brits at their own game. We’d wager more upsets are only a matter of time.